The Value of Each Other
by Rin-Rin Yu Die
Summary: Kagome loved her friends in the past with all her might, but her heart was with her family struggling through a financial crisis smack dab at Christmas time. When a man comes offering help to the shrine, it seems like the perfect deal until his clause is announced. Can Kagome give her hand to save the shrine? KS
1. Chapter 1

**Done for SunsetMiko's December 2013 Challenge: Candy-Canes.**

"What's Christmas?" came Inuyasha's rough voice by her ear. Kagome cringed at the sound, having told Inuyasha in the past that his voice could be very loud, especially when he chose to speak right by somebodies ear. As always though, the hanyō had decided that he was going to yell in her ear about the holiday she had just mentioned.

It was Christmas time, which meant KFC and all the boys building up their courage to ask out the girls that normally only spared a glance at them in their dreams. Christmas time meant that fir trees went up, decorated with lights and ornaments, and that she would find colored lights dangling from door frames, window frames, and roof trimmings. On TV she would be bombarded by ads from big name stores to come in and spend all her money on cheap knick-knacks and home appliances. In store windows, 'hiring now' signs would be prevalent and big posters advertising big sales would blind her everywhere she went.

Ah, good old Christmas.

Sure, Kagome was born and raised Shinto, and hell, she lived on a Shinto shrine but that didn't mean she didn't partake in the Christian holiday. Sure, she didn't celebrate it religiously (she only knew one girl that did and she was a blond transfer student from America with a terrible accent and thick 'southern' drawl as she called it) but it was a fun holiday even so. Her and Souta had always gone head to head on who could get the other the worst present while getting mama Higurashi and grandpa Higurashi the present that would make them smile the most. Of course Kagome would win over grandpa this year with a few 'magical' artifacts from the Sengoku era.

"Christmas is holiday in the future where we give gifts and celebrate each other," she explained. Miroku and Sango looked thoughtful, glancing to the side as one another slyly as not to be caught by Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome noticed though. Inuyasha on the other hand, completely oblivious to the monk and the demon slayer, looked thoughtful as well, though Kagome noted he looked kind of angry at the same time.

"Can you not do that any other time of the year, Kagome-sama. I do not mean to be rude but it just seems that this 'Christmas' holiday is a bit pointless," Miroku said, obviously attempting to remain polite in the face of what he didn't know. That was what Kagome liked about Miroku, his kindness when it came to any subject. Sure, he was a pervert but he wasn't totally irredeemable. Kagome smiled at the monk, attempting to show him the same kindness he had shown her in his question.

"Yes, you can give gifts and celebrate each other any other time of the year. I'm certain you do that with Sango a lot−" the monk and demon slayer blushed, trying to discreetly hide their clasped hands− "However, this holiday is set aside for that with all these different traditions meant solely to help grow that bond. We cut down a tree and we put it up in our house and we decorate as a big family. We all buy gifts and wrap them so that the person on the receiving end doesn't know anything about it. We also decorate our houses with lights and various statues to make it look more festive. There this mythos that we share to children about big fat man in a red suit with a white beard named Santa Clause who brings gifts to all the people in the world in one night.

This holiday wasn't always meant just to celebrate each other though. It was holiday to celebrate some religious figure from another religion, who is kind of like the Miroku of Buddhism but his name was Jesus or something. I'm Shinto though so I don't celebrate it like that.," she said, seeing that the monk's confusion seemed clearer.

"So Inuyasha, can I spend more time at home this month? I really just want to be with my family for Christmas because there is a lot going on and it's tradition that I spend it with them." Kagome had briefly considered explaining what more was going on in her family life as she saw Inuyasha's eyes cloud with curiosity but decided against it. None of them needed to know what was going on.

It was financial-related, the problem currently plaguing the Higurashi family. The shrine hardly, if ever, got visitors. The location seemed prime but there were plenty Shinto shrines in Tokyo, and many more famous then the Sunset Higurashi Shrine. So, donations hardly came in and despite their status as a shrine, and the fact the property had been in the Higurashi names for years, there were bills to pay and no money to do so with. Bankruptcy looked like the route they would take but they were looking at other things.

Of course Kagome wanted to be with her family during their crisis. She didn't want to be in the past, being spurted with guts and gore, she wanted to be at home, decorating the tree and letting her mother cry on her shoulder. She loved her ragtag group in the past but her family came first.

"Feh, I guess," Inuyasha answered in his rough, loud voice. He quickly added to his first statement upon seeing the bright, beaming smile on her face. "But if this 'Christmas' is so important to you, you're gonna spend some time with us, right?" Kagome rolled her eyes at Inuyasha's words, it was just his normal tough guy act getting in the way of his desire to be kind. She'd laugh but then she'd just be bickering with the hanyō and she didn't feel like that right at that moment. It was too happy.

"You're the best, Inuyasha-kun!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. He was stunned by her display of affection, stiff as a rock as she rested her head on his should in a nice, _friendly_ embrace.

Friendly… that was what the time-travelling miko and the hanyō were. And that's right, they were just friends. Kagome had been in the past three years now, three whole years of being friend-zoned and growing up had led the love she'd felt for the hanyō to fade. She was her own person, if she was going to be with a man, or a woman, she wanted them to love her and only her. Kagome didn't want to be a part of the cliché love triangle when she was twenty, and hell, she hadn't wanted to be a part of it when she was eighteen.

"Kagome?" Shippō questioned from his perch on Miroku's shoulder. She pulled away from Inuyasha, who looked like a blushing sixteen year old who'd just gotten his first kiss, and looked towards Shippo in a 'go on, I'm listening' way.

Sure, Inuyasha still had feelings for her but both understood they were firmly in the friend-zone.

"Are you going to get us gifts?" he asked just like the child he was, innocent and sweet. She smiled, loving it.

"Well, I don't know if I'm going to have the money…" she said slyly, looking towards Sango who was repressing a chuckle. "But I guess I'll do best. How about this? I go to my time for a day and a night and I'll bring you back some candy-canes?" Shippō's eyes lit up with joy at the word candy. He was such a child.

"Okay!" he squealed, nodding eagerly. Kagome had to bite her lip from chuckle. How happy the past was in comparison to the future.

"Alright, then it's sealed. I don't feel any jewel shards so I'm go to take Kirara now and go, okay Inuyasha?" Sure, Inuyasha had no real say in what she did but she knew that he liked to be asked permission. She'd feed his desire since it was the holiday season and she was feeling very jolly. "I'll even bring back ramen," she said in tempting tone. Ramen would make the pondering hanyō instantly cave, and just as she'd been a presage of, he caved quicker than an ancient mine that had TNT explode in it.

"Fine."

She smiled at them, saying her goodbyes to the monk, the slayer, the surly hanyō, and Shippo of course. She called Kirara to transform into her larger form, which she did quickly. With a smile, she flew away from the group and towards the well, feeling something slightly tug on her aura but, knowing that it wasn't jewel shard or Naraku, she ignored it.

She landed in the well clearing, happy to be leaving soon. Mama Higurashi would be needing her right about now if she was correct. Her mother would've just met or would be meeting with people to see what they could do about the shrine. If she recalled correctly, they were business people interested in supporting the shrine, probably so they wouldn't look like hopeless assholes. After all, 'saving shrine from bankruptcy' always looked good in the paper.

The blue light that engulfed her was comforting. Gentle, pretty, and calming to the miko about to face the stressfulness of a financial crisis.

After hopping through time to present day Tokyo, Kagome found her mother at the dining table across from three different business men, all the top dogs of their respective businesses, discussing with her mother what she could offer them in return for helping out the shrine. None of them seemed exactly pleased with just having a good deed to their name, they were greedy and wanting more. Preferably that all of the shrine's income went straight to the business men and in return they'd pay the shrine's bills until the deal became unprofitable to them (not that they mentioned that clause).

Her mother noticed the unsaid clause though and quickly hurried them out the door with a, I'll keep you men in mind.

"So who were those guys?" Kagome asked her mother as she sat across from her at the dining table, the cushion beneath her still warm from the business men sitting on them. Her mother made a grab for a cookie she cooked for the men that had gone uneaten by them, a displeased look on her face, before she delved into her explanation.

"Besides money-hungry bastards, they were Kobayashi Fumio, Ito Manabu, and Watanabe Orochi. We both know why they were interested in the shrine and their exact plans for it. I'm certain they're going to move us off the property and build a mall here if we're not careful. Ugh," Kagome's mother said with a groan, rolling her eyes like a rebellious teenager. Kagome repressed a snort which only made her mother's humored grow.

"I've got a meeting with Dosawa Shin'ichi in an hour," she informed her daughter, her jovial appearance turning to a frown.

Dosawa Shin'ichi was _the_ business man under forty. At a whapping thirty-six, he was double Kagome's age but he only looked to be about twenty. He had perfect black hair, always held back in a nicely elegant pony-tail and his body was always clothed in the most expensive of imported suits, or at least that was what she assumed from his appearance. He had muscles and looks to let him get by, and the talent in the business world to make himself stand out.

He was the perfect catch.

But rumors had been spread that he wasn't very fond of women, let alone any other human being. People said that when he wasn't at work, forced to socialize with the outside world, he looked himself away at home and did god knows what. Or, he traveled the globe under the pretense of having business deals in other countries he had to contend with. Rumors speculated that he had lovers to contend with instead but Kagome highly doubted it. He was just probable the modern day equivalent of Sesshōmaru, a drifter with a bigger world than just the island of Honshu. He seemed colder than ice, and she knew that because it was impossible to miss him anywhere one went. He was like a goddamn pop star he was so popular.

"Well good luck with that, I have to go buy candy-canes and ramen for when I go back tomorrow." Kagome didn't want to be anywhere near the business man, or any other business man besides Dosawa Shin'ichi. They just weren't pleasant people to be around.

"Thank you dear. We'll be having takoyaki and motsunabe for dinner tonight so be home on time."

"Of course mom."

* * *

Kagome slid the shoji door open, a small smile on her lips as she shut the shoji door behind her with her foot. In her arms were paper bags filled to the brim with ramen, candy-canes, and presents. Sexy lingerie for Sango, and indirectly Miroku, an easy cook book full of suggestions to spice up ramen that mostly consisted of stuff one could find in the past for Inuyasha, new markers and a new coloring book for Shippo, a book of Shunga prints for Miroku, and a catnip toy for Kirara. She hadn't shopped for her family yet but she thought that she might as well bring some presents to the past with her the next time she went.

She noticed that her mother was still speaking with Dosawa Shin'ichi so she left the two alone, choosing instead to take her supplies up to her room. She was a little surprised that he was still there after so long, Kagome drawing to the conclusion that they had struck a deal and were discussing the finer points of it.

Kagome climbed down the stairs again, off to grab some wrapping paper when her ears picked up on a part of her mother and Shin'ichi's conversation.

"…I heard Kagome enter, let me go grab her."

Kagome paused where she was, three steps from the bottom step as she saw the outline of her mother's shadow through the paper wall. Her mother opened the door, her brown eyes instantly falling on the form of her daughter. Kagome noted the slightly sad look in her mother's eyes and rose an eyebrow, curious as to why her mother wasn't happy. Hadn't they struck a deal? Maybe Kagome's assumption was wrong.

"Kagome, Dosawa-san and I have made a deal to save the shrine however…" she trailed off, looking away. Kagome climbed down the remaining steps and walked over to her mother, her expression full of concern for what type of deal would make her mother act this way. He wasn't selling them to a brothel, right?

"Mama?"

"You will marry Dosawa Shin'ichi."

**Yes, Shin'ichi is his first name (which is a rad first name by the way) and Dosawa is his surname. Originally he was going to be Yatani Shin'ichi but I thought that wasn't nearly as nice a sounding a name. **

**Oh, please don't forget to review. Reviews are very inspirational and really make me feel better about my writing. Constructive criticism is also appreciated. I just want to know your thoughts.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Done for SunsetMiko's December 2013 Challenge: Lights. **

She was not marrying anyone. Her mother had to know that so why she agreed to this deal, Kagome knew not. But even if her mother agreed, Kagome wouldn't, and she would set things right. Marriage was not Kagome's plan, she was too busy tied up in the past. If anything, she was married to her duty to collect the jewel shards.

"Mama, I'm not marrying him," she informed politely despite the fact on the inside Kagome was boiling with rage. What right did her mother have to hand her hand away to a man simply to save the shrine? Sure, Kagome loved the old shrine but she wasn't going to get married to a man she'd never talked to before just to save it.

Maybe her mother had taken her, I'll do anything for the shrine statement to seriously but Kagome hadn't mean it so seriously. Marriage hadn't even crossed her mind for Kamis' sake!

"Kagome, we need this. Marry him, be a good wife and everything will be fine for the shrine. We won't ever have to worry about paying another bill, he said he would never stop supporting the shrine, even if there were problems in your marriage," mama Higurashi begged quietly, trying to show her daughter to keep her voice down. She was certain that Dosawa Shin'ichi had heard Kagome's declaration and was worried that maybe he would back out knowing that his prospective bride wasn't willing to marry.

Dosawa Shin'ichi had appeared to mama Higurashi as a man who had honor to uphold, and pride to worry about more than money or children. If a bride did not wish to marry, than the honorable thing would be to acquit the engagement and to be on their merry ways. And anyways, would his pride let him be with a woman who didn't want to be there, let alone hurt his honor by keeping her as a wife?

She saw a light go on in Kagome's head and quickly hurried to say something else.

"The marriage must last five years or else he will drop us. We went over this, deciding since this is a marriage, it shouldn't be over in five months."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at her mother. Great! There just went her only way out of this marriage while still helping her shrine. If she wanted to get divorced to the business man tapping his fingers on their dining room table, she had to wait until she was twenty-three. Fantastic.

Anyways, why couldn't it just be two years? Why five? That was such a long time.

"Thanks mom," she said sarcastically, glaring at the older woman. Mama Higurashi gave Kagome a sad smile, patting her daughter on the shoulder in what Kagome assumed was supposed to be a comforting motion. In return, Kagome pulled her mom into a tight embrace. Sure she was mad at mama Higurashi but she still loved her mother. Mistakes happened, and this was just one of them.

"Come on, let's go meet your fiancé."

Mama Higurashi quickly returned to the dining room but it took Kagome a few moments to follow. As Kagome sipped in a deep breath and exhaled said breath, she balled her hands into fists and relaxed them.

Her mother had just given her hand away to some business man. Sure, Dosawa Shin'ichi was supposedly the perfect catch, the man every woman should love and want. Most women would probably be green with envy over Kagome's current situation, and a few men too, but Kagome wasn't envious of her situation at all. She would much rather hand the situation off to someone who wanted to be married to the man who was rumored to have multiple affairs in foreign countries and was supposedly as cold as ice personality wise. How on earth was being married to that supposed to be lucky? The only upsides she saw to being married to Dosawa Shin'ichi was his rocking name and the wealth he had under said name. That was it, besides that she might as well have been married to Sesshōmaru.

Sighing, she courageously entered the dining room, giant, drunken butterflies flapping around nervously in her stomach. Kagome felt like a soldier marching off to a war she knew she wouldn't return from.

Upon entering the room, Dosawa Shin'ichi's eyes didn't even flick to her. Ass.

"So Higurashi-san, I presume this is your daughter?" he asked Kagome's mother as she seated herself besides her mother. She did her best to put a fake smile on her face. She wasn't going to marry this man, she simply wasn't. Her plan was to talk him out of this marriage, and if he refused, she was going to grab her stuff and jump down the well and she wouldn't leave the past ever again. Sure, she'd miss her mom and family but there was no way in hell she was marrying Dosawa Shin'ichi.

"Yes that is correct. Dosawa-san, please meet my daughter Kagome. Kagome, I'm happy to introduce you to Dosawa-san."

Dosawa bowed his head slightly towards his bride. Kagome on the other hand let her fake smile morph into a sinister smirk.

"Dosawa-san, I am pleased to know that you have an interest in helping the shrine. However, my mom seems to have given you the impression that I am willing to marry you to help the shrine. Indeed in the past I have said that I would do anything to help the shrine but marriage hadn't even crossed my mind. As you can probably guess, it was quite a shock to here that my mother had promised my hand to you in exchange for helping the shrine. I love this shrine very much, it means the world to me, but there is one thing I won't do for it and that is get married to some business man with a stick up his ass." Kagome finished her speech, feeling proud and haughty about her words.

Her mother gaped at Kagome, disappointment shimmering in her brown eyes. Kagome felt a little guilty for not going along with her mother's plans but this was her life her mother was trying to promise away to save the shrine.

Shin'ichi on the other hand just arched one black eyebrow at her speech, staring in boredom at her as if he'd heard what she just had to say a thousand times over. The nerve!

"May I take a walk with your daughter Higurashi-san? I wish to speak with her alone." The strange look Kagome's mother gave Shin'ichi made him hastily add to his original statement. "I just wish to speak with her, my intentions are honorable. I would never lay a hand on her if she didn't wish it."

Kagome wondered if she should've smiled awkwardly at what he said or feared for her life. A stupid term her friends had come up with in high school came to mind but she quickly pushed it aside, knowing that it would just make her blush.

"Of course Dosawa-san."

So, she stood, frowning all the while at his outstretched hand. As if she was going to grab onto it like they were in a relationship. She stuck out her tongue at him and brushed past him, leaving him in the dust with her mom spouting apologies to him for _her_rudeness. Sure, she was the rude one. It wasn't like he hadn't just asked for her hand in marriage from her _mom_ despite the fact she was eighteen.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't the worst thing to happen ever, that could probably got to the countless hours spend cleaning yōkai guts out of her middle-school and high-school uniforms. But still, being given away to a man double her age wasn't exactly on the top of her bucket list. In fact, she'd never thought about it!

After bundling up, they stepped outside. They walked away from the main house in silence, taking in the lights her brother, mother, and grandfather had painstakingly put up around the shine to outline door frames, windows, roof trimmings, and tree branches.

"Kagome−"

She cut him off with a glare.

"You don't have permission to be so informal with me. I don't know you and what I do know isn't anything I like."

"_Kagome_," he repeated to spite her. She did a poor imitation of one of Inuyasha's growls while sneering at him but all this seemed to accomplish was him suppressing a chuckle. "I understand that you have no desire to be married to someone you believe you have never met, and I am aware that you have ties to the past that haven't been tied up. How−"

She cut him off again, her expression clearly ruled by confusion. He knew about the past? And what was that comment about her believing they hadn't met?

"Did mom tell you about the past?"

"I was aware of it to begin with," he explained, not caring that this left her with only more confusion and curiosity then she had begun with. "And I will make arrangements for you to finish up your duty in the past. I will pay for a train ticket every weekend for you to come down to the shrine during the week and then so you can return to Kyoto over the weekend. Of course you will be expected to be more prompt with you duty in the past, dawdling about will only delay the inevitable." He seemed completely impassive over what came out of his mouth, even though Kagome stared at him in shock and disbelief.

"How do you know about the past?"

"It doesn't matter," was his reply. She stopped where she was, feeling the chill of the night wind nip at her cheeks.

"It does to!"

Shin'ichi chose to ignore her this time. They continued to walk in silence, Kagome's mind racing over every possible reason he might've known. Maybe her mom did tell him but told him not to tell her that. Or perhaps he was from the past, a demon they'd helped along the way. He could even be a descendent or friend of one of her friend's in the past. His dark hair and brown eyes could be any Japanese person's appearance but it wouldn't be impossible for him to be a descendent of Miroku and Sango's who'd probably been told about the monk and demon slayer as a child.

He could have also known Inuyasha or Shippo if they were still alive, and if not, then maybe he was a demon in disguise.

Or he could be Sesshōmaru but she laughed at the thought.

"So…" she trailed off, no longer sure she even wanted to ask this question. Kagome didn't want to give this man any room to think they would ever call each other man and wife. Still, she was curious. "**_If_**we were to get married, when would that take place?" she asked in curiosity. They stood beneath the Goshinbōku, Shin'ichi taking in the appearance of the old tree. She felt in itch to tell him about the story behind it but quelled it, not wanting to appear too friendly with this man. He was the enemy after all.

"As soon as possible," he replied emotionlessly. "If you wish to get to know me better before the marriage, it can be arranged." He didn't even spare her a glance as he told her his plans for her future. That made Kagome angry.

"Look, I am not getting married to you. I don't know you! S−"

"As I already said, if you wish to get to know me better, than it can be arranged. I will be in town through the month of December." When he glanced over to her and saw the argument she was ready to let him hear, he quickly added to his statement. "Would it not be in the spirit of Christmas to give me a chance and get to know me better? How about this, we shall go and get some tea at a little teahouse in Suginami in two days and catch a performance by the Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra."

Kagome guessed that the man across from her was right. It _was_ the Christmas season so it would only be fair to get to know him and give him a chance. And anyways, she hadn't been to tea house in forever. But what about the orchestra? How was he going to get tickets on this short a notice?

"Let me worry about the tickets," he said, guessing at her thoughts.

She looked remorseful as she said her next words. "I guess."

"And," he began. Instantly her grey eyes were on him. What else did he have to offer? "What if we go look at Christmas lights tonight?"

Dosawa Shin'ichi seemed to know the way right into Kagome's heart as she hurriedly agreed, squishing her desire to squeal like a little girl.

* * *

When Kagome jumped into the well the next day, her bag weighing what felt like a ton, there was a happy smile on her face. Her evening had been wonderful. Shin'ichi really did know how to treat a lady: like an equal, a friend. They commented on Christmas lights, oohing and ahhing over the pretty ones and laughing over the ones that looked terrible, gaudy, or both at the same time with no shame at all.

Sure, she wasn't ready to say yes yet but she could see herself being content with their marriage if this was how he always acted.

There had been something odd though that had bothered her when she was with Shin'ichi, and she had only been able to pin point exactly what it was when she had laid on her bed in the darkness of her room. She had been able to very faintly sense a large junk of the Shikon jewel while she was with him. It wasn't as if he had it on him the entire time they were out together, her senses would've been screaming at her that there was a jewel shard nearby, but it was obvious he'd been in contact with one.

Maybe that's how he knew about her. The jewel. But if that was so, how come there was such a large chunk of the jewel in the future? Hadn't he said she would inevitably finish her duty in the past?

Then there always the simple notion of writing it off as a mere coincidence.

Kagome would deal with it when she got back though. She didn't want to focus on that when she was in the past with her friends, giving them all their presents really early. It would look like she wouldn't be spending nearly as much time with her friends in December as she had thought. She'd be too busy dating Shin'ichi.

The word dating was foreign to her words.

As she pulled herself over the rim of the well, she was a little surprised to find herself alone in the meadow. Inuyasha was normally there, and if it wasn't him then it was Shippo and Kirara or Miroku and Sango or just Sango alone. Actually, normally Inuyasha had to go to the future to fetch her but when she showed up in the past on her own she generally had a welcoming committee.

Brushing it off as nothing, she quickly headed for the village. When she got there though, she wasn't exactly thrilled about what was happening before her eyes.

Sesshōmaru had shown up, and he and the hanyō was fighting as always. One would think that brothers would've learned to tolerate each other after three years of having a common enemy like Naraku but nope, they still hated each other from the deepest pits of their hearts. It was sad but she had long since stopped mourning the broken relationship. Now all she felt when the two brothers clashed was irritation.

With an exasperated sigh, Kagome quickly found a spot beside Sango and Miroku who watched the fight with boredom dulling the lights in their eyes.

"What did Sesshōmaru do?" Kagome asked as she finally removed the heavy pack from her shoulders, massaging the sore skin as she watched Inuyasha swipe with his claws and Sesshōmaru dodge. Sesshōmaru made a skillful cut through the air, nicking Inuyasha's neck before the hanyō jumped back.

"Actually, Inuyasha-kun was the one to start it. He suggested that Sesshōmaru-sama had dishonorable intentions towards Rin-chan and Sesshōmaru-sama attacked," Miroku informed, his violet eyes flicking to the miko before back to the fight. He looked back just in time to catch Inuyasha swipe at Sesshōmaru's mokomoko… and miss.

"He didn't suggest that…" she trailed off, shuddering at the thought.

"Suggest that Sesshōmaru-san had dirty plans for Rin-chan? Yup," Sango stated bluntly, not even glancing towards her friend as she saw Sesshōmaru grab Inuyasha by the neck and hold him in a strangle hold.

"Enough you two!" Kagome called, standing up once seeing Sesshōmaru's attack. "Sesshōmaru-sama, you won. Inuyasha…" Kagome balled her hands into fists, not wanting to believe what she was about to say. "Apologize for calling your brother a pedophile and let's be done with the fighting."

Sesshōmaru turned his gaze towards the miko, his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. Instantly Kagome was wary of the look he gave her, knowing that it promised death to whomever was on the receiving end of it. She didn't exactly want to die before she got to go on her date with Shin'ichi so she took a couple steps back. Sesshōmaru turned back to glare at his half-brother and Kagome imagined that the stoic demon lord 'hmphed' as he released his grip from the hanyō's neck, allowing Inuyasha to hit the earth with a loud thump.

"Feh," Inuyasha grumbled. "As if I'd apologize to someone with an icicle so far up his ass."

With that Inuyasha stomped away, angry over his defeat at the hands of his older brother who had already disappeared to Kami knows where. Kagome was content with her lack of knowledge over where the older brother had gone; glad to be rid of the menace that held the title of lord of the West.

If she even minutely compared Dosawa Shin'ichi to Sesshōmaru, she was an idiot.

**And you know what, I never intended for these chapters to be so long but they kind of do what they want. I'm really happy though right now as this is my longest chapter for any of my stories yet. I'm improving as an author! **

**A big thank you to anyone who reviewed. Please review, they mean everything to a writer.**


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